Adopt-a-School Foundation in partnership with Premier Optical supports learners with spectacles

Adopt-a-School Foundation (AASF), an entity of the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, has been driving its vision mission one school at a time since it was established in 2002.

The aim of the Foundation is to create a dynamic, transformed and accessible schooling environment that produces capable global citizens to meet the developmental needs of Southern Africa.

This is done by supporting schools in disadvantaged areas through the implementation of the Whole School Development (WSD) model which addresses a myriad of challenges that schools are facing. Adopt-a-School works as a vehicle to bring in partners to resolve challenges in school leadership, curriculum, infrastructure, and social welfare. The visual support programme is key to the social welfare pillar of the Foundation’s WSD.

Steven Lebere, the Chief Executive Officer at AASF said: “We have been implementing a visual support programme since 2007 and have tested 128 000 learners and provided spectacles to over 6 610 learners. As part of our Mandela Day initiative, held at Tsakani Primary School, over 300 learners were screened. Of those, seven were referred to Leratong Hospital with various medical conditions while 19 were identified as needing spectacles. Yesterday, as the spectacles were handed over, it was a privilege to see those learners discover a bright and in-focus world. We are very grateful to have Premier Optical on board as our sponsor and are delighted that they partnered with us on this visual support programme.”

Principal at Nageng Primary School, Mr D.N Chauke said: “We are really grateful for the help our learners have received. Those young people who received spectacles had been struggling with poor eyesight, unable to see the board, for some time. We tried placing them at the front to reduce their struggle but these spectacles will go a long way to improving their ability to learn. I will ensure they will take good care of them. Thank you, Adopt-a-School Foundation and Premier Optical for thinking of us.”

The Foundation partners with Government, the private sector and individual benefactors to implement its WSD model at more than 640 schools to improve the governance, academic, infrastructural and social environment of schools. Through partnerships, the Foundation has invested R1.2 billion rand, impacting over 1.5 million learners.

For more information about the work of the Foundation or to support the visual programme, visit www.adoptachool.org.za